Many US and European store chains are boycotting Uzbek cotton in protest against the use of forced child labour in cotton harvesting. Undaunted Uzbek authorities have not changed such practice but sought instead other markets.

A report by the International Labour Rights Forum and Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan slammed Uzbek authorities for drafting tens of thousands of closely supervised, poorly fed and underpaid school students, some as young as 12 years old, to help in cotton harvesting.

As the annual cotton harvest winds down, Uzbekistan’s labor practices are once again facing scrutiny. A recently released report purports to offer proof that Tashkent, despite ratifying two international agreements designed to discourage the use of child labor, is continuing to send school-age children into the fields.

To do its job, government needs to shop. A firefighter needs his uniform and protective gear just as a police officer needs a holster and prisoners need clothing. Local and state governments around the country end up buying immense amounts of apparel each year from private vendors. The government is a major market player with great influence over the private sector by virtue of conducting even its most basic duties.

The Colombian government is again violating workers’ fundamental rights by dispatching state security forces to violently assault and arrest striking sugarcane workers who are demanding that they be recognized as workers and that the employers negotiate with them for a decent, livable wage. The government must end its tactics of terror immediately.